A plinth, or fillet, is a plank made of polymer material. It can be narrow or wide, with or without a pattern. Common to allskirting boards for stretch ceilings only one thing - some must be fixed to the ceiling, closing the technological gap.
Features of installing a plinth to a stretch ceiling
There are special skirting boards that have protrusions for fastening directly to the mounting profiles, to which the tension cloth is attached. However, the choice of such models is rather limited, so most of the skirting boards produced are fixed with glue.
Why can't you glue the ceiling plinth directly to the stretch ceiling? There are at least five reasons for this:
- The stretch fabric is made of PVC film, which is rather thin, which can sag under the weight of the skirting board;
- The solvents included in the adhesives can damage the film or even punch holes in it;
- It is impossible to glue the skirting boards to the stretch ceiling, since the film is not rigidly fixed and can easily change its position - a reliable adhesive connection is not formed under such conditions;
- Drying, the glue will create a tension that is unlikely to be uniform - the ceiling sheet will "lead", it will form folds, wrinkles;
- If it is necessary to remove the skirting board, the ceiling sheet will inevitably be damaged.
In order to glue the ceiling plinth to the stretch ceiling, that is, to the wall under it, and not be afraid that it will come off quickly, it is better to purchase plinths with the maximum possible width of the surface adjacent to the wall - this will ensure reliable adhesion and the plinth will hold well. The length of the skirting board in general depends on the shape and size of the room. The most common skirting boards are 1.3 m long, although two-meter models can also be used in large rooms.
Important: When buying a skirting board, take all the required amount at once, and make sure that the batch number is the same, otherwise individual parts may differ in shade.
Calculating the number of skirting boards
Check if you have enough skirting boards. The calculation is simple: to the total length of the perimeter of the room, it is necessary to add a margin for the corners (approximately 10 - 20 cm for each corner). The resulting result is divided by the length of the plinth (standard length is 200 mm) and the required quantity is found out.
Installation of a skirting board for a stretch ceiling
Usually, any additional elements that serve as decor are first fixed in place, and then painted if necessary. However, there are some subtleties here: if the skirting board is located close to the canvas, it can get dirty during painting, therefore it is recommended to paint it first, and only after that start installation.
Before attaching the skirting board to the stretch ceiling, you need to purchase tools for this work:
- Stationery or construction knife;
- Measuring tool (ruler, tape measure);
- Spatula (preferably rubber or plastic);
- Pencil;
- Brush;
- Miter box (to get smooth joints in the corners of the room).
In addition, you will need the following materials:
- Plinth;
- Adhesive for the skirting board (selected taking into account the material from which it is made);
- Sealant (preferably acrylic);
- Polyethylene lining (cling film).
To attach the skirting board to the stretch ceiling, you will also need a stepladder and a napkin to remove excess glue. Start with preparatory operations. Above all, protect your stretch ceiling from accidental scratches and stains. To do this, attach a thin plastic wrap to it around the entire perimeter of the room.
Advice: In order to qualitatively and beautifully connect the skirting boards in the corners of the room, you can buy special curly "corners". In the event that suitable "corners" are not on sale, they are made using a special tool - a miter box - and an ordinary sharp knife.
Miter box - a rather rare instrument, it is not necessary to purchase it "one time". A homemade miter box can be made from three boards, building from them something like a tray, the inside of which should be equal in width to the width of the baseboard. Then arm yourself with a protractor and cut a hole in the sides of the tray at an angle of 45 degrees.
To glue a skirting board to a stretch ceiling, you need high-quality glue. It is better if it is transparent (in a pinch - white). One of the main requirements for glue is that it should not darken over time. Most often, Moment glue is used for such work: "Installation" and "Super-resistant", as well as "Titanium".
How to glue a ceiling plinth to a stretch ceiling: work order
Preparatory work
- Spread the skirting board along the floor along the walls. Place two skirting boards for long walls, one for short ones. Place the cut-to-size parts of the skirting board in the remaining spaces. Try so that the parts that you cut off yourself go to the corners of the room, and in the center those that you cut off in production dock - they will give a perfectly even joint.
- Cut the corner parts with a miter box so that they fit together evenly.
- Re-lay the skirting boards on the floor and check how accurately they fit in place. Make corrections if necessary.
After completing the preparatory work, you can begin installation directly on the wall.
Important: You need to start work from the corner opposite the entrance to the room.
Installation
- Before gluing the skirting board to the stretch ceiling, attach it to the walls without glue, check the joints.
- Mark the wall with a pencil, marking the joints and the bottom edge of the skirting board.
- Use a polyethylene backing (cling film) between the ceiling liner and the skirting board.
- Grease the wide side of the ceiling plinth with glue and wait a couple of seconds - this is necessary for the glue to begin to set.
- Place the skirting board against the wall using the pencil markings and press down for a minute. Then use a napkin to remove any excess glue that has come out.
- The next skirting board is glued in the same way, it is applied to the already glued one. In addition to the wide part, it is also necessary to glue the ends of the skirting boards with glue.
- They continue to glue the skirting boards around the perimeter until the work is completed. After the glue "grabs" a little, you can remove the film from the ceiling, if you do not plan to paint the skirting boards.
Important: You can start painting the skirting boards only after the glue is completely dry. For information on drying time, see the adhesive packaging.
After the glue is completely dry, it is necessary to fill the gaps between the wall and the baseboard using a sealant and a spatula.